In gynecology and obstetrics it is known to determine the uterine activity by means of a tocometer, which measures the contraction of the uterus and transmits it to a monitoring device, which records the time behaviour of the labour pain intensity by means of a recorder. Measurement of the contractions takes place by means of a dynamometer, e.g. a bender bar with a strain gauge and which is operated by means of a ram movable in its axial direction.
In conventional transducers the ram is guided in the underside of the transducer and projects from the transducer casing, so that its end face comes to rest on the abdominal wall of the pregnant woman. Thus, the uterine activity can be directly recorded through the axial mobility of the ram and transmitted to the dynamometer. As in the medical field transducers must be easily cleanable and disinfectable, it should have no depressions, grooves or difficultly accessible points on the casing. However, in the known construction the space between the end face of the ram and the underside of the transducer is difficultly accessible for cleaning purposes. In addition, the transducer must be as watertight as possible, so that on the one hand no disinfectant can enter it and on the other it is also possible to use the transducer under water. This condition is inadequately fulfilled in the known transducers, because the passage of the ram through the underside of the transducer casing represents a location for possible leaks.
The problem of the present invention is therefore to improve the known transducer in such a way that it can also be used under water.